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1681. As EU mulls sanctions, Turkey defiant

The European Union is seeking ways of imposing sanctions on Turkey in the event that its transgressions in the East Mediterranean are scaled up, and in the wake of its decision to convert Hagia Sophia into a mosque. ...

1682. Divided Cyprus reacts to Hagia Sophia

Cyprus has weighed in on Turkey’s controversial decision to allow Muslim prayer inside Hagia Sophia, with different reactions across the divided island and amid reports of nuanced differences in President Erdogan's statements in two different languages...

1683. Cabinet green lights creation of deputy ministry for culture

The cabinet on Wednesday gave the green light for initial efforts to be made toward setting up a deputy ministry for culture....

1684. Paphos police dealing with peculiar police impersonator case

Paphos police are investigating a peculiar case involving a 54-year-old local man who impersonated an officer on at least two occasions while wearing a shirt with ‘police’ written on it....

1685. Berlin to press Ankara over drilling plans for East Med

Berlin plans to play an active role, in the context of Germany's presidency of the European Council, in easing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean where Turkey plans to expand its exploration for oil and gas in contravention of Greek and Cypriot exclusive economic zones...

1686. Aegean tension fueling Berlin concern

With Germany assuming the European Union presidency on Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed concern over developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and Greek-Turkish relations in response to questions from MPs in the Bundestag....

1687. North scrambles to contain bug at entry points

Turkish Cypriot authorities went into high gear on Wednesday following reports that one passenger tested positive and another traveler, who failed to self-isolate, went from the airport straight to a barbershop...

1688. Anastasiades: Cyprus wants escalation of EU action against Turkey

“Cyprus is asking for an escalation of EU action against Turkey’s provocativeness,” President Nicos Anastasiades stated in an interview with the Greek television network Open....

1689. Anastasiades: The use of weapons will mean the end of Greek-Cypriots

Any attempt to use military means to resolve the Cypriot issue will mean the end of Greek-Cypriots on the island, President Nicos Anastasiades has said, according to a short excerpt from a news show that will be aired in the country on July 1....

1690. UNHCR rep to provide statement on sexual harassment claims at Pournara

The UNHCR representative that raised the alarm regarding incidents of the sexual harassment of minors at the Pournara refugee camp in Kokkinotrimithia was expected to provide police with a statement on Wednesday, the outgoing police chief Kypros Michaelides said....

1691. Probe into allegations of sexual harassment of minors at Pournara camp launched

Interior minister Nicos Nouris said a probe will be launched into reports made at the House human rights committee on Monday regarding the sexual harassment of minors at the Pournara refugee camp in Kokkinotrimithia. ...

1692. Ayia Napa rape case on appeal path

The lawyers of a British young lady, who was accused by Cypriot police of fabricating rape allegations in Ayia Napa last year, have submitted documents to the Supreme Court for an appeal hearing expected later this year...

1693. Women in brothel raid under arrest

Seven women in Nicosia previously described by police as possible victims of trafficking have been arrested, with a judge ordering them in remanded custody for multiple offences related to prostitution...

1694. A grim five years for Greek tourism

Greece may not repeat the tourism arrivals and revenues record of 2019 before 2025, according to an Ernst & Young report on the effects of the pandemic on Greek tourism, heralding a five-year crisis for the sector. This year alone the local industry is set to lose about 10 billion euros, it said....

1695. Turkey spells out position on Greek islands

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has reiterated Ankara’s contentious claim that islands that lie far from the Greek mainland, including Kastellorizo in the southeastern Aegean, are not entitled to generate continental shelves...

1696. Perdios: Cyprus expects just 30% of last year’s tourists

Cyprus expects to attract just 30% of the four million tourists that visited the island last year, deputy minister for tourism Savvas Perdios said, claiming that this year will without a doubt be very tough for the local tourism sector, but the epidemiological data of the island and countries from which it expects tourists will ultimately have the final say....

1697. Jailed hostel manager says he is not a pimp

A male suspect facing pimping charges in a recent brothel investigation in downtown Nicosia says he was only renting single rooms to women and charging a lodging fee...

1698. Letter to UNSG denounces Turkey's violations of Cyprus' airspace, maritime zones

A letter dated May 28 sent by the Permanent Representative of Cyprus to the UN Andreas Mavroyiannis to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that denounced Turkish violations of the island’s airspace and maritime zones was released on Thursday as an official document in the General Assembly of the UN Security Council....

1699. Greece and Italy sign ‘historic’ maritime borders accord

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio on Tuesday inked a maritime borders agreement delimiting an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between the two countries....

1700. Man jailed in another Ayia Napa rape case

A man has been sentenced to eight years for the rape of a young British woman, who said she was raped after being driven in a dark remote area outside Ayia Napa last year...

1701. EU issues '10 commandments' for safe travel

As EU countries gradually lift confinement measures, Europeans may be able to travel this summer, provided the health situation and national restrictions allow....

1702. The growing complications of the reopening of checkpoints

The discussion for the reopening of checkpoints will be anything but an easy feat, as in addition to the role played by the epidemiological situation, the matter is inevitably being politicized in view of ‘elections’ set to take place in the north, but also in light of the UNSG’s report expected around the end of June....

1703. Ankara sparks renewed tensions with Athens over claim for 24 blocks

Ankara on Tuesday responded to a complaint from Athens concerning a map published in the Turkish government’s gazette outlining areas where Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has applied for exploration licenses, including several within Greece’s continental shelf, by insisting that these areas are within the boundaries Turkey has submitted to the United Nations. ...

1704. Greece to make massive riot police equipment purchase

Greece is planning purchases worth millions of euros to equip the Hellenic Police’s (ELAS) riot force with shields, helmets, uniforms, bullet-proof vests and other supplies, including large quantities of tear gas, in anticipation of a fresh push on the northeastern border with Turkey by undocumented migrants and refugees trying to force their way into the European Union....

1705. Demonstration outside refugee camp sparks Government reaction

A demonstration staged outside the Pournara camp in Kokkinotrimithia on Sunday calling for an end to the arbitrary detention of hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers stirred reaction from the Government on Tuesday, with an Interior Ministry announcement claiming it won’t be allowing any further ghettoization of the island....

1706. Greek FM insists Evros fence will be completed

1707. Evidence destroyed in Edek probe

A political party in the Republic of Cyprus is at the centre of a new investigation into possible obstruction of justice, after it emerged that important evidence into an ongoing probe had been destroyed...

1708. Students flock to schools, but many parents remain wary

As primary and middle school students returned to school classrooms on Thursday as part of the second phase of the relaxation of measures, Education Minister Prodromos Prodromou said that Cyprus as a whole has earned this ability to gradually return to normality, but reports signalled not all parents were thrilled with the idea of sending their children to school....

1709. Sunbathing pair arrested after causing scene with police

Limassol police patrolling the beaches on Sunday arrested four people in what a video that has gone viral locally showed to be a heated altercation as the beachgoers initially resisted arrest....

1710. AG mulling over intervening after man gets prison for breaking curfew

Attorney-General Costas Clerides said Wednesday that the Law Office of the Republic of Cyprus, in consultation with President Nicos Anastasiades, is considering to intervene in a case where a court imposed a 45-day prison sentence on a 35-year-old man who had broken curfew in late March to visit his girlfriend....